News analysis

Turkish politics

The battle of Semdinli

ALONG Turkey’s southern border, in a far-flung corner of the country that is wedged between Iraq and Iran, separatist rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have been waging one of the fiercest battles in recent years against the Turkish army. For nearly two weeks, PKK rebels entrenched around the township of Semdinli in the Hakkari province have resisted an onslaught by Turkish helicopters and fighter jets that have been pounding the mountainous terrain, setting fire to forests and forcing hundreds of villagers to flee. The battle is said to have spread to the outskirts of Semdinli, an impoverished town of 19,500 where sympathy for the PKK runs strong.

Sedat Tore, Semdinli’s mayor from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) says the din of artillery and bombs "is terrorising our people". Plumes of smoke have enveloped the town. "We are in a circle of fire," implores Mr Tore.

Details of the clashes remains sketchy because the combat zone has remained sealed off by the army ever since the battle started on July 24th. The army moved in following reports that PKK militants had set up checkpoints along a road connecting Semdinli to the northern town of Derecik and blown up several small bridges. The PKK claims to have killed as many as 49 Turkish soldiers and that it is controlling the areas surrounding Semdinli. The army denies the claims saying it has lost only two men and that it has killed at least 37 PKK rebels. "We really don’t know what is happening because the government won’t allow us to go in [to the combat zone]" said Esat Canan, a BDP MP in Semdinli, who expressed concern for villagers caught in the conflict.

The shroud of mystery thickened after Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, told a group of journalists this week that he knew what was happening in Semdinli but that "I won’t tell you." Turkish officials claim that the army has foiled PKK plans to spark an "Arab Spring" type uprising in the region but have failed to explain why the fighting has gone on for so long. A PKK affiliated website claimed on August 3rd that the rebels had launched a separate attack in the township of Eruh further west killing at least 11 soldiers. Turkish officials acknowledged that two soldiers died in the attack.

The rebels are expected to further escalate the violence before August 15th, which marks the 28th anniversary of their campaign for an independent Kurdish state uniting some 30m Kurds, scattered across Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. They have been emboldened by recent gains by Syrian Kurds, led by a sister group in the Democratic Union Party (known by its Kurdish initials PYD), which has wrested control of a string of Kurdish majority Syrian towns along the Turkish border.

Turkey has responded by beefing up its troops and ordinance along the border and threatening to intervene should the PKK use Syria as a launching pad for its operations. Amid all the chest-pounding there are some hopeful signs that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) party has not abandoned reforms in favour of an all out (and long tested) "military solution" to the Kurdish problem. Even as the Turkish jets continued to rain bombs around Semdinli, AK MPs in Ankara gathered with opposition members in the Turkish parliament to thrash out the draft of a new constitution that the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has promised to deliver.

The wording is expected to pave the way for the Kurds’ long-standing demands to educate their children in their long-banned mother tongue and to shelve references to Turkish ethnicity in relation to citizenship. But there is a hitch. According to the drafting committee’s own rules there needs to be unanimity among members for any new article to be approved. The far-right Nationalist Action Party, which denies there is a Kurdish problem, is pushing back. To his credit Mr Erdogan has done more than any of his predecessors to improve the Kurds’ lot. But unless he resumes talks with the rebels that broke down last year, the scenes in Semdinli are likely to be repeated.

Kurds are a distinct people with every right to maintaining their own culture and language in Turkey. It is the racist and fascist behavior of the Turks which is forcing the Kurds to fight for thier rights. If Turkey is unable to respect the human rights of the Kurds, the Kurds should be allowed to become independent. The behavior of Turkey is both barbaric and uncivilised. No wonder the rest of Europe doesn't want Turkey in the EU. The Arabs sees Turkey more as a treat rather as a partner. That leaves Turkey without any support except that of the USA which values Turkey as a natural enemy of Russia.

World War I resulted in the breakup of the evil Ottoman Exmpire and ended the socalled Caliphate which was responsible for the genocide of millions of Armenians. That is a big plus for the forces of good! Hopefully the next war Turkey provokes will be the end of Turkey and the liberation of the Kurds!

1. In Syria, the Army is fighting against its own citizens and killing civilians. (As far as we read on this newspaper and watch on global broadcasters) In Turkey, Turkish Army is fighting against terrorists many of whom are coming from across the borders with Syria and Iran and are not Turkish citizens.
2. In Syria, there is a dictatorship. In Turkey, like it or not, there is a democratically elected government.
3. The downed Turkish jet case has yet to be explained in full details. In any case, it has nothing to do with this article.
Regards,

@The Economist: The definition "separatist rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)" should be corrected as "terrorists of PKK", as they are recognized internationally for example by The US and the EU.
Turkey, just like any other sovereign state, has its right to defend its unity and sovereignty in every point of land within its borders. Those who dare attempt to occupy and gain control in any tiniest location and deny the authority of Turkish state within Turkey's borders would definitely get the most powerful blow right on their face and so did they get it right now. The fact is that, PKK is not the representative of Turkey's Kurds, many of whom live in the biggest metropolitan areas of Turkey and deal with their own lives. PKK is only a puppet with its bosses being close and far away enemies of peace in Turkey. Turkey will continue to live in peace together with its Kurdish citizens, while at the same time it will absolutely do whatever is necessary to completely defeat these PKK terrorists. Their head is in prion now for over 10 years, and so will be the end of all these terrorists -of those who stay alive, of course.
Regards,

You agree then that the Syrian Government has the right to defend its unity and sovereignty in every point of land within its borders? And you agree that those who dare attempt to occupy and gain control in any tiniest location and deny the authority of Syrian state within Syria's borders deserve to get the most powerful blow right on their face, as the Turkish jet which tested Syrian air defences did?

You're trying to be too clever beyond your means again. In Turkey, it's the PKK that tries to prevent the democratic process by forcing people not to vote. Or by telling people at gun point for whom to vote, if at all. Even a single vote for anyone other than their designated party or candidate in some villages will result in the execution of the village 'muhtar.'

Also, I've been meaning to ask the PKK partisans why PKK keeps attacking large construction sites, mines, businesses, etc., in the Southeast and burning and destroying heavy machinery. Why are they trying to keep the Southeast underdeveloped? Are they afraid that a well off Kurdish population wouldn't sympathize with them anymore?

You seem to like to argue for the sake of argument. Maybe you can answer a few real questions.

In their own land, the Kurdish people have the right to free, dignified coexistence with the other nations on the basis of safety and equality. This innate and justified right derive from being a nation.
The federal system is a system is the most realistic and inclusive system, which would suit the pluralist structure of Turkey. Kurdish problem can only be solved in an equitable solution in a federal system. Kurdish people can fully attain their fundamental rights in such a system.

Therefore, in the new constitution, Turkey must be reconstructed on the axis of federalism and within this context the Kurdish people must be allowed self-governance with the recognition of federal status.

I see only one barbarıan here : It ıs you ! What do you you know about Turks and Turkısh Culture? I dont know who you are but you try to be a brain washer ! Most of Kurds dont support PKK . You can see this reality from the last elections in TURkey and PKK is a marxist-kommunist organisation and fight just for his own benefits. They dont care with KUrds. If you live in Europe ,you must know that the whole heroin ,exstasy business belongs to PKK and they kill the EUROPEAN YOUNGSTERS!!

Racist Dumbass:
Your reading of history is extraordinarily selective and betrays an absolute lack of knowledge and curiosity.
This does not surprise me because your "understanding" of history is confined to a repetition ad absurdum of propagandistic slogans, most of which on examination founder, because like all propaganda the truth is distorted or ignored to suit the purpose.
But truth is truth and will always out.

In 1916 a few hundred men and women took control of buildings around Dublin and participated in a week long armed insurrection against British rule in Ireland. When the superior British forces (who were at war elsewhere at the time) overcame the rebels and marched them down the streets of Dublin, the good citizens threw rotten fruit and vegetables at them and called them scum. The British army, under martial law, chose to execute some of the rebels and in those few days the mood of the population changed completely. The ongoing repression after that meant that when the IRA attacked a rural police station 4 years later, the population was almost fully behind the rebels. The British Army, no longer at war, turned its full attention to Ireland but the tiny, ill-armed and fractured organisation called the IRA made Ireland ungovernable. And Britain finally and with great reluctance gave Ireland not independence but autonomy within the Empire.

Malaysia and Kenya were slightly different, because the zeitgeist was different, not because Britain was broken by two world wars.

And when you get sanctimonious about Empires and Colonialism, don't ever try to argue that the Turkish empire was anything other than a colonial empire - the colonisation of the Balkans was to extraxt wealth (including human wealth) from there for the Empire; the colonisation of Cyprus was so the alcoholic Muslim Emperor could enjoy the fruits of its vines; the colonisation of North Africa was so that the Capital could enjoy the slave laboutr it extracted from there. ANd tell me if the Ottoman empire was so munificent and benificent why were so many of its component parts trying for so long to leave it?

I laugh when you point out that Konya and Kayseri are now industrialised as a consequence of Ataturk's modernisation project - these ancient Roman and Greek cities have always been important trading centres and it is the capital of pious AKP supporters which has made them industrialised, pious AKP supporters whose fathers and grandfathers supported Menderes not the Kemalists; who gave their money to Fethullah and established their own vakiflar; these very same people you despise as Anatolian peasants and say are incapable of ruling Turkey. Yet now you praise them. Do you know how ridiculous you look and sound?

You know I have no time for the PKK (ask Cordy; I regard them as a blight on the world... they cannot argue that Turkey has ignored the South East's economic development and then attack every effort that is made to invest - even if some of the investments made are basically stupid.
PKK gets a lot of its money from smuggling, including smuggling drugs and people, and their networks are protected by both police and jandarma (and that means TSK)- the people who protect the networks have an interest in continuing the conflict becauise in teh absence of conflict the smuggling gets harder - look hard at who is murdered and you will see taht it is those who oppose the smuggling kingpins.
But, regardless of how vile the PKK is (and it is vile) it is an absolute fact that in human history no guerilla/ terrorist/ armed criminal group has been defeated by military means - consider Malaysia, Northern Ireland, Spain, Kenya, Aceh, Chechnya, Tibet, South Africa, Colombia, Palestine and on and on. Rob the terrorists of their political excuses and the support they get in their community dries up. It takes political courage and real leadership to start that process and until it happens the terrorism will continue. Sometimes independence is the solution, sometimes autonomy is the solution, sometimes recognition of ethnic differences and hence rights is the solution. But when your population has been bred to believe that part of the citizenry is scum or untermensch or genetically backward and when they have been taught that compromise about certain matters is evil then there is almost no hope regardless of leadership.

You never let us down Fahrettin bey. Tune in every saturday for a dose of hilarious persecution complex.

Can you remind us who wants to break Turkey up? Name them and shame them, please.

Who are Turkey's former allies? Again name them.

The Turkish Republic existed long before the PKK - how effective was it in integrating the Kurds? But you do noyt mena integration you mean assimilation, just as the German government is now trying to do with Turks.

So can I just put your thesis in clear English - "the west" (which I remind you Ataturk was determined to make Turkey a part of)(whatever that means) is trying to establish a State with a 100% Muslim population (are there any non-muslim Kurds?)to fight wars against Muslim nations? I see that as a rather brilliant startegy which is 100% certain to work.

If you can watch European TV, watch the news. They report essentially from two types of countries. One group are the first World countries.

These are rich places where people make one or two children, which they love more than anything else, which is why they dedicate their lives to educating them to make them productive members of 21st century society.

Their politicians work to bring investments to their corner of the World.

The second group are the fourth World places, Islamic societies of the Middle East. These people produce more children than they can count. They have little to eat, in Yemen they have even run out of drinking water.

Children who grow up hungry and angry with no market-able abilities to make money. They make the news with their riots, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at whomever they find, manning various terrorist organisations.

Nobody will invest a penny in such places, and so they go on, angry and miserable.

Ataturk told us to be a part of the first group and so we are. The most powerful and dynamic economy of the Islamic World. The german press says, to become the first Islamic country to join the industrialized world. The only country between Austria and Singapore to offer her citizens a better future.

Such a country has a lot of envious enemies. That is where the fourth World comes into action.

Turks, Kurds, Armenians... Anyone who loves this land, deserves to die on this land and be buried under it. To be one with the land and rest in peace.

If Kurds are willing to die for their independence on Turkish soil, then they deserve the right to fight for it... But then again, so do Turks. So I guess, we'll see...

I wish we weren't so scared of each other. That we did not fear of loosing our land, of loosing our identity, of loosing our religion, of loosing our freedom or of loosing our wealth... Then we could accept each other and live together. Preseving our own qualities whilst in hamony with others'. Like a tree in a forest.

The AKP government and the state want to get political affect and victory over the Turkish-Kurdish conflict and the Syrian conflict due to the new Turkish nationalism called Ottomanism which has not been democratic at all. The only way to solve the conflicts are dialogue as both sides and the Turkish and Turkish Kurd public have been exhausted with these negative politics and politicians whether it is AKP, CHP, BDP, MHP, PKK or TSK as the public pays for it! According to a research in 2009, 90% of the Turkish Kurds do not want to be separated and want to live with the Turks. They want regional autonomy/governance, Kurdish mother tongue education, improved human rights against the ethnic Kurds/Alevi Muslims/Christians, regional Kurdistan name, regional flag etc. PKK leaders Ocalan and Karayilan have worked for MIT police for more than 10 years in 1970s when there was heavy political and ethnic violence. In 1982 coup and constitution the system was based on Turkish identity with Sunni muslim as official religion and they have banned the Kurdish language to assimilate the ethnic Kurds. In those coup times (and still goes on to this day) the Kurds have been raped and tortured heavily in prisons like Diyarbakir and today like in the old days, they are forced to memorize 10-20 national marches by means of force repetitions in the compulsory military services. Some even joke about these. Thus, the Turkish and Kurdish leftists and other minorities such as Alevi Muslims, Christians got armed in the region and went to the mountains for the the political struggle. When they do so, they swear by the Kurdish identity and not to be disarmed until the Kurdish ethnic identity to be recognised by the Turkish constitution. Like any armed group, they support their struggle by the means of drugs-weapon network, smuggling and local-national-international financial support from the ethnic Kurdish communities.

The Turkish press and the state says 'terrorists' and 'terror organisation' based on the dated 1982 constitution as the system has been based on and favours Turk, Sunni Muslim, rightist/authoritarian etc. The international press labels the PKK militants as 'Kurdish rebels, fighting for regional autonomy, language, etc'. The authoritarian Syrian government labels the rebels as 'terrorists' as well. The Turkish press talks about the 'racist/facist' mentality in Greece when politicians ban the Turkish movies, like last week. But they fail to see this when a court in Diyarbakir bans the 19 Kurdish park names, like a few weeks ago. The Turkish press talks about the 'rebels' in Syria, but fails to see rebellions in Turkey. The funny thing is, no one questions why these rebellions/terrorism occur in the first place due to the negative politics!

The Turkish government committed a terrible genocide against the Armenians, if my memory serves me well the death toll was close to one million.Many Armenians run for their lives to Europe and America, setting up rather good restaurants...one of them became Governor of California.

Yet speaking of this genocide is a crime in Turkey.

If the Kurds, who have as much of a right to have their own nation as the Turks do, were up in arms against the Iranian government they would be celebrated as freedom fighters.The fact that they are fighting against Turkey and not against Iran must lead to some reflection.

At least they got a break in Iraq, probably the only good thing that ever came out of that fiasco.

Such a manipulative,biased and falsifying article. What Economist is doing for last 5 years is not journalism at all but impeccable yellow journalism.
Only 6% of Kurdish people have sympathy against this blood thirst terrorists. They are not rebels they are a bunch of bandits and brainwashed teenagers who never care about Kurdish rights at all.
The biggest representative of Kurds is the AK Party,ruling party in the government.And this fact is killing these blood thirst terrorist who holds pay check of Assad and Ahmedi Nejads in hand.

you dream alot ali must be the stuff u smoke give up and you may just see how turkey will win once again and you can always go back to iraq no need to stay in my mother land turkey im sure your people will treat u better and then you could all sit down and smoke that shit your on and build your dream land,,, what a bum u are